


We Only Get Better

by StarrySummers04



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Bisexual Grant Ward, Bisexual Tony Stark, Established Relationship, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gay Bruce Banner, Grant Ward Isn't Hydra, M/M, Not Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 2 Compliant, Not Canon Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Other Ships may be added, Pansexual Leo Fitz, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Post-Episode: s01e22 Beginning of the End, Protective Grant Ward, Rating May Change, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:41:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25999171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarrySummers04/pseuds/StarrySummers04
Summary: After SHIELD falls and is taken over by HYDRA, Phil gets his team patched up and back on the Bus before taking them to New York. they're all out of a job at this point but maybe the Avengers will be happy to see him and be able to help the team? He can only try.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Tony Stark, Leo Fitz/Grant Ward
Comments: 5
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

Upon leaving the Hub, Phil knew exactly where he wanted to take his team. “Get us to New York.” He instructed Melinda, who was once again at the controls.

“Anywhere in particular, sir?” She asked, knowing she was on thin ice after the team had discovered that she was spying on Coulson for Director Fury. But SHIELD was no more and they were all unemployed. Really not helpful.

“Just as close to Manhattan as you can get.” Phil replied.

“It will take about 10 hours.” She alerted him.

“Good. Everyone could do with some sleep before we get there.” Phil accepted before leaving Melinda alone in the cockpit.

Phil went back to the main room where most of his team were nursing a glass of alcohol. Leo had chosen a mug of tea that probably had several sugars, but he was the only one. Grant had a full glass of whiskey, his chosen drink, Skye had half a glass and he had no idea what Jemma was drinking. “Where are we going, sir?” Jemma asked.

“To see some friends of mine. You’ll all want to get a good night's sleep before we arrive. We’ve got about 10 hours.” Phil explained.

“Would you like to join us for a drink before we all go to bed, sir?” Grant offered, arm wrapped firmly around his boyfriend. It was understandable, the team were all sitting closely together, needing the comfort of each other after such a tense few days. Jemma and Skye were sharing a seat, as were Grant and Leo, although that wasn’t unusual for Grant and Leo considering they were a couple.

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Phil accepted, grabbing his own glass and filling it up. The team were all battered and bruised but had been patched up before they got back on the Bus. They all drank in silence, Leo eventually falling asleep curled up beside his boyfriend. Grant drained the rest of his glass before moving to stand up, trying not to disturb Leo.

“I’d better get this one to bed.” Grant stated, smiling fondly at his boyfriend. Grant carried Leo through to their bunk, stripping him off so that he was only in a t-shirt and his underwear. Grant then stripped down until he was only in his underwear before curling up on the bed beside Leo, wrapping his arms around the sleeping scientist.

It wasn’t long before everyone else said goodnight and headed their own separate ways, Phil went back to the cockpit to keep Melinda company for a bit as he wasn’t yet tired. “I want to be mad at you.” Phil started as he sat down beside her.

“Are you not?” She checked.

“Of course I’m not! You’ve always got my back and I understand that you only try to do what is best for me and the rest of the team which is why I can’t be mad at you even though I really want to.” Phil ranted. Melinda just let him get it all out. “All these years later and we still make a good team.”

“Me, you and all these children.” Melinda joked. Phil knew what she meant, he was weirdly protective over his entire team, but he didn’t have any children of his own so the stray agents he picked up along the way would have to suffice. “Where are we really going, Phil? They’ll all want to know before we get there.”

“I know they will, but if I tell that lot that I’m taking them to see the Avengers then they never would have gone to bed tonight.” Phil replied.

“You’re right. Well, Agent Ward may have but Skye, Leo and Jemma certainly wouldn’t.” Melinda agreed. “Have you called ahead to let them know we’re coming?”

“I don’t think they know I’m not dead so it will be a bit of a surprise, but I hope it’s going to go well.” Phil answered. Melinda rolled her eyes. He’d be lucky if none of the Avengers punched him considering they all thought he was dead for nearly 2 years.

“They are likely to be mad at you, please tell me you realise that. I’d be upset if someone I thought was dead and had mourned for turned up on my doorstep.” Melinda reasoned.

“That’s a fair point, but I’ve been busy doing what I’d been told to by Director Fury. He clearly didn’t always have the best ideas.” Phil laughed. “I’m gonna turn in, can you let me know when we’re about to land?”

“Of course. Good night Phil.”

“Good night, Melinda.” 

It took him a while to fall asleep that night, after everything that had happened since he’d woken up in Tahiti, returned to work and taken on this team, he had a lot going round in his head. At least the rest of his team were either sleeping peacefully or doing something quiet, Leo and Grant had kept everyone up more than once by having sex, but everyone was too exhausted tonight. Hopefully, they would have somewhere decent to stay tomorrow and then the couple could be as loud as they wanted and everyone would still be able to sleep. No one ever called them out on it though, this life was tough and you needed to cling onto whatever good things you had in your life, especially Grant Ward, the poor guy had been to hell and back when he was a child, and then he ended up doing this job. It was his turn to finally catch a break and Phil was glad that someone like Leo could be that for him. Leo was so sweet, seemingly innocent and had a brilliant mind. The whole team had their own skills that had been beneficial to their time together. Hopefully it wouldn’t be over just because SHIELD had fallen.

* * *

The team were all up bright and early the next morning at Phil’s insistence. “What’s going on?” Skye asked, yawning into a cup of coffee. She hadn’t been able to sleep well the night before, despite Phil’s recommendation of a good night’s sleep, too many thoughts running through her brain. Jemma was curled up, looking like she was going to fall asleep and, as usual, Grant and Leo were draped over each other, looking well rested. They always slept better when by each other’s sides.

“We’re going to land soon and then it’s just a short walk.” Phil replied.

“Short walk to where?” Jemma asked.

“Avengers Tower.”


	2. Chapter 2

Once they had landed, everyone grabbed their pre-packed bags and headed from the SHIELD air base to the Tower, everyone was feeling a little apprehensive, the Avengers were obviously very well known and Phil hadn’t seen them in nearly two years. He was very worried about how they were going to react to the fact he was alive again and had not contacted them to let them know. “Hello, please may we see Tony Stark?” Phil asked the receptionist.

“Do you have an appointment?” She asked.

“No, I’m an old friend. Please tell him Phil Coulson is here.” Phil smiled.

* * *

“Sir, Agent Coulson is here to see you.” JARVIS alerted the team who were all spread out in the main room of the Tower to watch a film. Well, except Thor who was still on Asgard. Steve and Natasha had returned last night with the devastating news about SHIELD. Steve had spent most of the night in the gym, slowly working his way though most of the punching bags that they owned, Tony had put in an order for some more. Natasha had enjoyed sparring with everyone, she was feeling very stressed so no one stood a chance, not even Clint. Tony sat up straight, dislodging Bruce, who was comfortably curled into his boyfriend’s side as they continued educating Steve on pop culture.

“JARVIS, don’t be ridiculous. Phil Coulson is dead.” Tony groaned, none of them needed this to be dragged up again. JARVIS brought up the security footage from the lobby, where Phil was clearly alive.

“What the fuck?” Bruce asked.

“I have no idea.” Tony replied.

“Did anyone know about this?” Clint asked, he was shaking. Natasha wrapped an arm around her best friend, Phil had been his Supervising Officer when he was recruited to SHIELD and Clint had always seen the man as a father figure so he had been crushed when Natasha told him Phil had been killed by Loki on the Helicarrier. It was one of the main reasons he’d been so determined to put an arrow through the God’s eye. That and the whole mind control thing.

“I had no idea.” Steve whispered.

“This must have been above our clearance level.” Natasha stated.

“JARVIS, send him up.” Tony instructed.

* * *

“You can go on up, JARVIS will let you out on the right floor.” The receptionist smiled. Phil led his team to the elevator, Leo, Jemma and Skye looked very nervous. Phil couldn’t tell what the expressions on Grant and Melinda’s faces meant, but they were specialists, experts in their area so he wasn’t surprised. Although Grant was holding Leo’s hand quite tightly and Phil couldn’t have told you who was comforting who.

When the doors to the elevator opened, Phil immediately found himself with an armful of Clint Barton. “Hey everyone.” Phil grimaced, knowing it was unlikely to go well. Most of the Avengers looked furious.

“How could you not tell us?” Clint sniffled.

“You would have to ask Director Fury that one. Other than Director Fury and Agent Hill, very few people know I’m still alive, or should I say, know that I was resurrected. I wanted to. You know how important you are to me.” Phil replied, holding Clint tightly. Natasha also moved over to wrap both Phil and Clint in a hug. Once Natasha and Clint had pulled away, Steve shook Phil’s hand.

“We’re all very glad to see you’re alive.” Steve smiled. Melinda smirked, Phil looked like he was going to pass out. Everything the man had been through and he still got starstruck around Captain America.

“How were you resurrected?” Tony asked, ever the inquisitive mind.

“Tony!” Bruce exclaimed. “Please don’t feel that you have to answer that, Agent Coulson.”

“Please, call me Phil. You all can. SHIELD is no more so technically we’re not agents anymore.” Phil smiled.

“Only if you call us by our given names.” Steve replied.

“Are you going to introduce us to your companions?” Clint asked.

“Of course, this is my team. We’ve been working together as a mobile field unit for the last few months. This is Melinda May, a pilot and specialist. Grant Ward, combat and espionage specialist, he has the highest scores since Natasha.” Phil began. Clint and Natasha both raised their eyebrows, looking impressed.

“We’ll have to test that some time.” Natasha challenged. Grant laughed.

“I look forward to it.” He replied. Leo rolled his eyes at his boyfriend.

“What about the rest of your team?” Bruce asked, noticing Leo, Jemma and Skye stood behind the others.

“I’m Skye. I’m a hacker and I’ve been training to be a field agent.” Skye introduced.

“Who’s your S.O?” Clint asked.

“Ward.” She replied.

“And the other two are?” Steve asked.

“This is Leo Fitz and Jemma Simmons. Leo is an engineer and Jemma is a biochemist.” Grant replied, still keeping a tight hold on Leo’s hand. It was obvious that both of the scientists were intimidated by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner.

“We’ll have to show you both the lab sometime.” Tony smiled. He always loved being around other scientists, especially fellow engineers. Grant fought back his laughter, if Leo got to see a Stark lab, he didn’t think he would ever see his boyfriend again.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you here?” Steve asked.

“We are all currently unemployed and we don’t really have anywhere to go.” Phil replied.

“You’re more than welcome to stay here, of course. And I’m sure we can find jobs for you. Leo and Jemma, was it?” The scientists nodded. “Yeah, always room for another engineer and biochemist at Stark Industries.” Tony rambled. Leo and Jemma shared a smile.

“Always room for more Avengers.” Steve smiled. “Especially if they’re as good as Clint and Natasha.”

“That remains to be seen.” Natasha smirked, she couldn’t wait to spar against someone who was supposed to be as good as her.

“What about me?” Skye asked.

“I’m sure your S.O. can continue to work with you and train you, and maybe you can join us on missions and stuff one day. And it never hurts to have a hacker around.” Clint pointed out.

“Phil, would you like to join Maria Hill? She’s basically our handler. And you’d all be under the protection of Stark Industries and our lawyers. I know SHIELD has now been declared as a terrorist organisation because of HYDRA so you’re all liable to be in trouble, even though you didn’t know about it.” Tony rambled. Grant couldn’t help but look at the floor. He had known about HYDRA, but had been at a very vulnerable place in his life and John Garrett had manipulated him. Leo could sense this, no matter how many times everyone assured him that he wasn’t at fault, Grant still blamed himself. Leo turned and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend in a tight hug, the rest of the team rallied around him, either offering a comforting hand on his back or shoulders, or just standing closer. The Avengers could tell there was clearly a story there but didn’t want to pry.

“We’re just watching a movie, do you guys want to join us?” Steve offered. Phil smiled as the team all went to sit down. Grant pulled Leo into his lap, needing the comfort at the moment and they all settled in to watch.


End file.
